Well done to all those in New Zealand raising amazing amounts of money

for various charities that help their ex-Armed Forces!

HOW IT ALL BEGAN IN NEW ZEALAND!

I was
contacted at the end of 2014 and asked if I would like to run a Ride of Respect
in New Zealand but I was a little worried about letting the ride down, I was
living on the West Coast of the South Island which although its paradise it
does not have a very large population. The West Coast is larger than Yorkshire
with a population of just 24,000 people and during the winter the passes can be
closed with snow, so not many outside riders would be coming.

I was on a charity ride with a few of my
brothers from the Widows Sons and at the end of the ride over a few beers we
sorted the problem. Sam who is ex
Army would hold a ride in Canterbury, Neil who is ex Airforce would hold a ride
in Wellington and Ben who is serving with the NZ Navy would hold a ride in
Auckland while I would run a ride on the West Coast while being the centre
point to coordinate the rides.

I set up
the facebook page and posted the four rides and within a very short time I had
people from other areas asking why there was no ride in their patch. I explained that I did not have organisers
everywhere and if they wanted to run I ride in their area that I would help.

Come the
day 17th May 2015 we had nine rides and 918 riders took part.

I kept the rules simple, all the rides would
start at the same time on the same day so we would all be riding together in
spirit if not physically and that each ride would start and finish at an RSA
club (Returned Service Association) with the money raised on the day going to
the clubs we visit.

The first ride was held the same day as the UK
ride to pay respect to the ride starting in the UK, although with us being in
the Southern hemisphere and the onset of winter some of the riders ended up
riding in snow so we decided to move the ride forward a bit and given that
ANZAC day is in April we though the last Sunday before ANZAC day each year
would be our ride date. It’s
still a bit touch and go for weather given that April is well into Autumn but
at least it’s just rain and not snow we have to deal with now.

From the 2015 ride with nine rides we went into 2016
with eleven rides and 1191 riders this year, although the South Island got all
the good weather and the North Island got the rain. The rides that took place were:

Northland run
by the RSA

Auckland run by Ben from the Widows Sons MMC supported by the
Patriots DFMC

Waikato run by Dan and Tiki of the Tribal Nations
MC

Coromandel run by Marlene of the Ulysses Club

Hawkes Bay run by
Crusty Customs and Bay social cruisers

Welington run by Neil from the Widows
Sons MMC supported by BRONZ and Wellington riders

Top of the South run by
Stephen and Colin from Tribal Nations MC

Christchurch run by Sam from Widows
Sons MMC

West Coast run by Sam from Widows Sons MMC

South Canterbury run by
Trevor from Braithreachas MC

Lower South last but longest running for two
day run by Glenn and Phil from BRONZ

The ride
is now supported by a large number of clubs and by the RSA and I hope to keep
building to make it bigger again next year, we will never have the numbers the
UK has because we do not have a very large population, less than half the
population of London, but we manage to fill the whole country once a year with
the sound of thunder and let those who have gone before they are not forgotten.

For 2018
it is my plan to run a ride to the National memorial in Wellington on the 11th
November to mark 100 years from the end of the First World War so already
planning ahead but what would you expect from a Sapper.

Two hundred bikies from the Wellington region will pass through Wairarapa on April 24 - the day before Anzac Day - for their annual Ride Of Respect, raising funds and awareness for New Zealand returned services associations.